Soviets, Oman Open Diplomatic Relations

MOSCOW — The Soviet Union and the Persian Gulf sultanate of Oman signed an agreement Thursday to establish diplomatic relations, the official Soviet news agency Tass announced.

It said an understanding to establish diplomatic ties was reached a few days ago when Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard A. Shevardnadze met in New York with Oman's foreign minister, Youssef Alawi.

Oman is a coastal state on the southeast Arabian peninsula, and its chief industry is crude-oil extraction. The United States is among its major trading partners. In 1978, Oman established relations with China.